The New York Knicks currently possess a 3-2 lead over the Detroit Pistons in the opening round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs, with a chance to close the series out and punch their ticket to the second round in a pivotal Game 6 matchup on Thursday night.
New York finished the regular season with an impressive 51-31 record and claimed the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, but their horrid 0-8 record against the East's top-2 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics did plenty to prepare the NBA world for an early Knicks exit before the postseason even began.
Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns put together two incredible individual campaigns to help the Knicks capture a top-3 seed, but it remains clear that more changes need to be made if the storied franchise wishes to truly compete for a title in the near future.
Fortunately, the organization's luck could change drastically in the coming months, as the Milwaukee Bucks' 2021 NBA champion and Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo may be made available for trade this offseason. If New York were to get involved in the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, recent reports indicate that a tough decision could be made to acquire the 2-time league MVP and 2020 Defensive Player of the Year.
"The Knicks are a very good team with (Mikal) Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, but they’re still a cut below the NBA’s top teams," SBNation's Ricky O'Donnell wrote Wednesday morning.
"The Knicks possibly could have landed Giannis for their Bridges package. Can they find a way to still get the Bucks star if they fall short in the playoffs?"
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"New York doesn’t have any draft picks left to trade, but they could offer Jalen Brunson or Towns."
"Giannis reportedly has an affinity for New York, and it’s possible he could pressure the Bucks into accepting this deal rather than going to some of the smaller market teams on this list."
In a hypothetical trade scenario, O'Donnell suggests that the Knicks could throw either Brunson or Towns into potential discussions to land Antetokounmpo, but Towns would seem to be the more likely trade candidate.
Towns authored an incredible 2024-25 season for New York, as he contributed 24.4 points and 12.8 rebounds while knocking down 42.0% of his three-point attempts in 72 contests. If he were to be shipped to Milwaukee, he'd have to be joined by a smaller contract, like that of rookie forward Pacome Dadiet's, to make the deal work financially.
By potentially pairing Brunson and Antetokounmpo as a dominant pick-and-roll duo and surrounding the pair with Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, the rest of the league would be forced to consider the Knicks as true title contenders for 2025-26 and beyond.
In 67 games for Milwaukee this season, the 30-year-old Antetokounmpo averaged a ridiculous 30.4 points, 1.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists on a 60.1% field goal percentage, along with a sensational 109 defensive rating per 100 possessions.
Though the idea of dealing Towns for Antetokounmpo is an incredibly fun one to consider, it remains unlikely that the Bucks would accept a deal from New York of any kind due to their lack of valuable draft capital and prospects.
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